Carlos Bacca to miss Colombia’s World Cup match against Ivory Coast

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Colombia striker Carlos Bacca has been ruled out of the World Cup for up to 10 days with a muscle injury all but guaranteeing his absence from the group stages, announced his country’s soccer federation.

This now means that Colombia’s striking options have been further reduced for Colombia’s second group match against Ivory Coast on Thursday.

Bacca, 27, has been touted as one to watch during this year’s World Cup after an impressive domestic season in Spain with his club Sevilla during which he scored 14 league goals in 35 La Liga appearances. He scored a further seven goals as he helped the Spanish club win the Europa League.

Bacca has been capped 11 times by Colombia and has scored three goals. He was seen as an important replacement for Colombia’s star striker Radamel Falcao who was forced to miss the World Cup through injury, although he did not feature in Colombia’s 3-0 opening win against Greece.